21 



ers. At this time the packer or butcher has exhausted the supply 

 of cheap beef which was put up during the summer season and is 

 on the market for the class of cattle most desirable for feeding pur- 

 poses. If the feeder bids against him, he necessarily has to pay 

 more than he does in the fall when there is a larger number of 

 cattle going on the market from which to select. This has caused 

 a large number of cattle feeders to buy stockers in the fall at com- 

 paratively low prices, carry them through the winter in stalk fields, 

 on wheat and oat straw, corn fodder and other cheap, rough feeds, 

 with little grain and a minimum amount of care and attention. If 

 stockers maintain their weight under such conditions during the 

 winter, the owner is usually satisfied. 



No. 15. A lot of high grade Herefords 12 months of age, fed at the Sta- 

 tion during the winter of 1906-07. Average daily gain for six months 

 2.08 Ibs. per head. These cattle sold in Chicago at $6.75 per hun- 

 dred, August, 1907, the highest price paid during that year for cat- 

 tle weighing under 1000 Ibs. per head. 



There is also in the spring a strong demand for stockers suit- 

 able for grazing. Summer gains are usually cheap as stockers will 

 put on from 250 to 350 pounds during the six months grazing pe- 

 riod, if not started on the grass in too high a condition. At or- 

 dinary rental for pasture, this gain will cost from 2 to 3 cents per 

 pound, hence a greater price per hundred can be paid for steers in 

 the spring of the year than in the fall. This may be shown by the 

 following explanation. Cattle weighing 700 pounds in the spring 

 when turned on grass and costing 5 cents, should gain 300 pounds 

 during the summer without grain. This will cost, with pasture at 

 $i.po per month per head, 2 cents per pound, thus the same cattle 

 weighing 1000 pounds at the close of the grazing season, will have 



